As Long as You Want
by Blue Infinity
Summary: Skate. Kate has a nightmare and Sawyer comforts her. Hopefully better than it sounds. Continues to next morning and beyond now.
1. Day 1: The Nightmare

Authors Notes: Ok. So this is my first fanfic ever so please go easy on me. I've been meaning to try and write a fanfic for a while now but this time I actually did it. Please, Please, PLEASE review. I really want to know how I did so I'll know if I should try and write more or if I should never ever write again. And yes I know the title is lame. 

Thoughts are in italics.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Lost. If I did I wouldn't be going crazy waiting for season three to start.

With that being said… on with the story!

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**As Long as You Want**

It was around midnight and Sawyer was sitting near a small fire about halfway up the beach, mindlessly observing the orange flames. He hadn't been able to fall asleep (much to his displeasure) so he decided to sit out on the beach alone for a bit, reading one of the many books he had salvaged from the plane crash, while a soft breeze ruffled his hair.

After a few more minutes of relaxing by his little fire, he heard a soft whimper from somewhere behind him and what sounded like crying. He whipped around and strained his eyes against the darkness to find the source of the noise but the only thing he saw was the dim outline of Kate's tent. He couldn't really tell if the sound was coming from her tent or not, but the only other place the crying could be coming from was the jungle which he couldn't see into through the darkness.

With his curiosity getting the better of him, he extinguished his small fire, picked up his flashlight that he had brought with him to the beach, and set off towards Kate's tent to see if the sound was coming from there or not.

When he got there he quietly listened with his ear against the tarp that made one wall of the tent and found that the whimpering and crying was indeed coming from Kate's tent. He quietly pushed the flap aside and stepped inside. Kate was curled up in a ball in the corner of her tent on the blanket she used as a bed shaking slightly.

Sawyer knelt down next to her and gently shook her shoulders.

"Freckles?" he whispered. "Freckles, wake up."

"No" she cried in her sleep, "no please…"

Sawyer shook her harder and when she didn't wake up he started to get worried. _It shouldn't be this hard to wake her up… _he thought. _What if something's wrong?_

"Freckles… Freckles… _Kate_!"

He was beginning to panic now because he was almost yelling her name and she was still trapped in her nightmare. He was nearly hysterical with worry when she suddenly shot up. Kate looked wildly around her small, makeshift tent and when her eyes settled on Sawyer. She let out a gasp and moved away from him as fast as she could toward the wall of her tent.

Her eyes were out of focus and she was breathing hard as if she just got done running. Sawyer was slightly startled by her behavior. _Is she that scared of me or is she just not free of her nightmare yet?_

She still had tears in her eyes and looked so terrified it made Sawyer's heart ache. He definitely wasn't used to seeing Kate so vulnerable. Still not knowing if it was he she was scared of or not he tried talking to her.

"Freckles" he said softly "you okay?"

She stared wide-eyed at him for a few more seconds and then blinked as though she had just come out of a trance.

"Sawyer?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Yeah, Freckles, its me. You okay?" he asked again since she obviously hadn't heard him the first time.

It kind of unnerved him the way she didn't immediately recognize him but at least it let him know that it was not him that had scared her. It pained Sawyer in a way he didn't even know was possible at the thought of Kate being scared of him.

"Yeah… I'm okay. I just… uhh, had a nightmare." Kate said in a confused voice as though she didn't really understand what was happening yet. The nightmare obviously had had a very tight hold on her.

She slowly became more aware of her surroundings as she calmed down and as the remains of her nightmare faded away.

"What are you doing here, Sawyer?" she asked in a small voice that didn't suit her at all.

He was slowly calming down too from the nearly hysterical state he achieved when trying to wake her up. She wasn't back to normal but at least she was coherent enough to ask why Sawyer was in her tent so late at night.

"I was out on the beach and heard you cryin' so I came in here to wake you up." he answered her. He decided not to mention how worried he got when she didn't wake up immediately.

"Oh…" she said, looking down.

Kate was still tense and was too upset by her nightmare to even try and hide her emotions from Sawyer. _Besides he's being uncharacteristically nice so I don't have to pull myself together just yet, _she thought. That had been the worst nightmare she'd had in a long time and she wasn't even sure if she was capable of putting her walls up even if she wanted to at this point. She secretly wanted comfort but she knew Sawyer was not going to offer it. It still made her feel slightly better, though, that Sawyer cared about her enough to even come this far and wake her up. It was a lot better than what he had done in her dream.

Sawyer, on the other hand, was silently fighting with himself while Kate was collecting herself. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and make the frightened look in her eyes disappear but he knew that she would never accept his comfort. She was too pig-headed just like him.

They both sat there in Kate's tent in silence for several minutes. Sawyer knew that now that Kate was awake he should leave but he couldn't bring himself to leave her alone.

_At least she hasn't kicked me out yet,_ he thought while he glanced at her small form. He honestly didn't know what to do now. She was awake but clearly not okay.

"Do you, uhh… wanna talk about it?" Sawyer finally chanced asking. He couldn't stand the silence that had engulfed them. He knew that the chances of her actually telling him what her nightmare was about were slim to none but it was the only thing he could think of to ask her.

Kate looked up at him. _Why is he being so nice?_ she thought. She was expecting him to make fun of her being so weak or make a stupid comment about her having nightmares to begin with but he didn't.

"Not really," Kate said in the same small voice she had used earlier. She actually _did_ want to talk about it but she thought Sawyer might use it against her later. _He did tell everyone about me being a criminal_ she justified, but as she stared at him she somehow knew he would never tell anyone about the nightmare if she didn't want him to.

"Oh… okay," Sawyer said looking away from her. "I'm gonna leave now then."

He definitely didn't want to leave her but her rejection to his offer felt like a dismissal to him. He got up and started to head for the door when she spoke again.

"Sawyer… could you… stay with me for awhile?" She was staring at the ground while she asked this in a whisper and Sawyer knew how hard it was for her to ask this of him.

"You don't have to if you don't want to but I jus-" she started to say when he didn't answer right away but his response cut her off.

"Course I'll stay, Freckles" he said softly.

He walked back over to Kate and sat down next to her on her left side.

"I'll stay as long as you need me to."

This act of kindness coming from Sawyer was too much for Kate and she broke down in tears. Seeing her sobbing like this broke Sawyer's heart. He reached over and pulled her onto his lap wrapping his arms around her.

"Shh, Freckles, it's okay," he whispered to her as he gently rocked them both back and forth.

They stayed like this even after Kate's tears had stopped. Neither one of them wanted to ever move. Sawyer loved being able to hold her and Kate loved that he was able to comfort her despite her previous beliefs. She actually did feel a little better now and she suddenly felt compelled to tell him what her nightmare had been about. Not being able to confide in anybody since she was a kid really ate away at her sometimes and she longed to unload her troubles on somebody.

"Sawyer…" she began, unsure of herself, "can I still talk to you about my nightmare?"

"Course ya can," Sawyer said while brushing some of her hair out of her face.

"Okay," Kate began. She didn't want to reveal too much about her past yet but she wanted to tell him something. He did deserve to know why he was comforting her.

"It started with me here on the island. I was in the jungle picking fruit just like I do in real life but I'm in a part of the jungle that I've never seen before. I started to walk back to camp but then the marshal walked out of the trees toward me."

Kate stopped her story for a moment. She didn't really want to tell him what exactly the marshal did next but she didn't want to stop telling Sawyer about the nightmare either. _The truth hits too close to home,_ she thought. _I'll just be vague and hope he doesn't push it._ She then resumed her story.

"He started taunting me like he did when I was on the run and then attacked me. I couldn't stop him."

At this point Kate was crying again and Sawyer tightened his hold on her.

"It's okay, Freckles, it was just a dream. He's dead. He can't hurt you now."

"It was so real," Kate sobbed. "I almost felt it happening."

Looking at Kate now, Sawyer couldn't imagine how anyone could ever hurt her. She looked so fragile.

"Ya don't have to tell me the rest if you don't want to, ya know."

"No," Kate said quickly. "I need to tell someone."

"Okay."

"Anyway," she started again, "he… uhh hurt me and then stepped back smirking at me. Then my step dad, Wayne, came into the little clearing and did the same thing while the marshal watched, laughing. When they were both done they just stood over me and watched me bleed. Then you came up and I asked you to help me but you just laughed like I was crazy and then walked away. The marshal and Wayne were about to come at me again when you woke me up."

When Kate concluded her story, she was crying harder than ever with her head buried in Sawyer chest.

Sawyer for one was left speechless. He had left her in her nightmare. _Does she really think I would ever leave her like that?_ No wonder she was so terrified when she finally woke up.

"Freckles, you uhh, you know I would never leave ya like that in real life right?"

He was truly scared to hear her answer. He may be selfish and seem uncaring but even he would never have left her there in that clearing.

"I know," Kate said when her sobs quieted somewhat. "It was just a stupid nightmare."

Once again, Sawyer held onto Kate until her tears had dried. Kate was now exhausted both physically and emotionally so she couldn't help herself when a yawn escaped her.

Sawyer chuckled a little and then said, "I should probably leave so you can get some sleep."

Kate inwardly panicked at this. She definitely did not want to be alone yet but there was no denying that she was tired and needed sleep. She knew the solution but did she really trust Sawyer that much? _He's never put me in an uncomfortable position or at least not one that I couldn't get out of if I wanted too._

Before Kate could talk herself out of it she asked, "Would you stay with me? I mean I just don't want to go to sleep alone incase the nightmare comes back."

She waited for the sarcastic comment or suggestive remark but it never came.

"I already told ya. I'll stay as long as you want me to," Sawyer reminded her with a soft smile.

With that, Kate got off of Sawyer's lap and settled herself down on her makeshift bed. Sawyer lay down behind her and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close. Kate closed her eyes and soon fell asleep feeling safe in Sawyer's arms.

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Well what did you think? Like it. Hate it. Please review and let me know. If people actually like this story then I could continue it to the next morning or something. Or I could take suggestions. Once again, PLEASE REVIEW! 


	2. Day 2: The Next Day

To Reviewers: Thank you so much! You guys are unbelievably awesome! I honestly didn't expect anyone to like this story much less review it but you proved me wrong. I never thought I would be so happy about being wrong before. Most of you asked for more of this story so here it is. You guys made my day and you rock!

Author's Note: I'm SO sorry it took this long to write a second chapter for this story. I never really thought people would like it so I had nothing planned out but people did like it so I finally thought about what would happen the next day. I kinda have a very general idea now where this is going but feel free to give me suggestions. I guarantee you I will be a horrible updater, especially now that school just started, but I will try to update every two/three weeks or so. Please be patient and thank you to everyone who read my story.

Thoughts are in italics.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it. :(

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Sawyer woke up the next morning just as the sun was coming up over the island. It took him a few moments to realize that he was not in his tent. He vaguely wondered what he was doing here with Kate asleep on his chest before last night's events came rushing back to him. He remembered her nightmare and hoped that she was sleeping well now but judging by the small smile on her face, he had nothing to worry about.

People would start waking up soon now that it was getting daylight and Sawyer did _not _want to be seen walking out of Kate's tent so he decided that he needed to get up. It was also good to leave before she wakes up too. _It would be really awkward if we woke up together like this. _He looked down at her sleeping form and smiled. She looked so different when she was asleep, so peaceful.

He didn't want to wake Kate up so he gently lifted her and slid out from under her. Sawyer placed her back down and was relieved when she didn't even stir from his movements. He stood up and was at the door when he turned back to look at Kate one more time and saw that she was shivering. _Damn conscience_. He unbuttoned his shirt, walked back over to her, and wrapped the shirt around her. Kate stopped shivering almost right away and nestled down into Sawyer's still warm shirt. He smirked and walked out of her tent onto the beach.

When Sawyer reached his tent at the edge of the camp he found another shirt he could wear for the day, grabbed a mango from his stash of food, and picked up _Watership Down_. He sat outside on his airplane seat and began to reread his book.

Sawyer spent all of that morning reading or watching the other survivors go about their daily business. He saw Jack go around to a few different people throughout the morning and suspected the doctor was filling his quota of good deeds for the day. He occasionally glanced at Kate's tent to see if she had gotten up yet but she never did. Secretly he was glad. She had been tired for the last few days and she really needed this sleep. There had been faint circles under her eyes for almost a week now but he doubted anyone else besides him and possibly Jack noticed.

It was after noon before Kate woke up. Sawyer just happened to glance over the top of his book and see her emerging from her tent, a couple yards away, stretching. She was also wearing his shirt. _Damn she looks good in my clothes._ Their eyes met and she started walking towards him.

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Kate woke up feeling much better than she had ever felt waking up on the island before. She tried to move her arms to stretch but something was over them. She looked down and saw Sawyer's shirt covering her up. She smiled and remembered what had happened last night. It had been so uncharacteristic of Sawyer to do anything nice for someone let alone comfort them but that was exactly what he did. He even covered her up with his shirt. _He's not so bad after all._

The sun was beating down on the tent and Kate wondered what time it was. She never got up later than eight but it was definitely later than that judging by where the sun was.

She stood up and put Sawyer's shirt on. _It still smells like him. _Kate stepped out of her tent and stretched. She felt so good this morning it was unbelievable. _Especially since this week is the…_ _never mind. _She didn't want to think about what this week was.

She looked over at Sawyer's tent and saw him sitting on his airplane seat, watching her. She walked over to him under the guise of giving his shirt back so she would have an excuse to talk to him. She actually wanted to keep the shirt forever but he didn't need to know that.

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"Mornin' Freckles," Sawyer said when Kate got closer. "Afternoon actually but it's not like it matters here."

"Yeah," Kate replied. _So much for needing a reason to come over and talk to him. He started the conversation for me._ She was nervous but had no idea why. She was so happy when she woke up but now that she was here by Sawyer in the light of day she was worried. _What if he teases me now that I'm not upset anymore?_ That would be something he would do but she inwardly prayed he would just let the entire thing last night blow over.

"Ya sleep okay?"

"What?" Kate was shook out of her musings by this sudden question.

Sawyer smirked as if he caught her doing something wrong and repeated the question, stressing every syllable.

"Oh. Yeah actually I did." Kate answered truthfully. He deserved at least some truth after last night.

"So… ya slept okay with me yesterday and now you come out here and daydream about it. I'm touched Freckles."

"No," Kate said with indignation. "I was just thinking about…something else."

"Sure. Okay. Ya know… you don't have to lie to me. If you're daydreamin' about sleepin' with me all you have to do is say so and I can turn that dream into a reality."

Yep, this was exactly the kind of teasing that she wanted to avoid. She felt bad enough as it was that someone saw her in a state of weakness but now Sawyer would throw it in her face. She knew he wouldn't mention it to anyone else but he would use it against her.

"Daydreamin' again Freckles?" Sawyer asked while still smirking up at her from his airplane seat. He couldn't believe that Kate zoned out on him twice already today. _She must be more upset about last night than she's letting on, but being the jerk I am I keep making stupid innuendos._

"No," Kate answered without offering an explanation this time.

Both of them got quiet after this last exchange and felt reluctant to say anything else. Sawyer feared he would say something stupid that would upset a clearly already upset Kate, and Kate didn't want to give Sawyer any more ammo.

Kate stood there for a few more minutes observing the sand at her feet until she got up enough courage to whisper, "Thanks for last night Sawyer."

Even though Kate was whispering, Sawyer heard what she said perfectly. Now he really felt like an ass. _Not only was I teasin' her when she was upset, but also when she was tryin' to thank me for the one good, unselfish thing I've done in probably years. Nice goin' jackass._

"Don't mention it," Sawyer told her. He was just about to stumble his way through some sort of an apology when Jack walked up.

"Here you are Kate. I was looking all over the beach for you earlier."

Sawyer glared up at Jack. _Doc always has the worst timing. Just when I was about to try and be nice again he shows up and ruins my moment with Freckles._ Jack noticed Sawyer's glare but decided to avoid it and turn all of his attention toward Kate.

"I actually just woke up," Kate said shifting her gaze from Sawyer to Jack. "That's why you didn't find me."

"You slept to noon?" Jack asked her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Kate lied. "Just catching up on my beauty sleep."

"Well in that case, would you mind helping me pick some more fruit for people here on the beach?"

Kate stole a glance at Sawyer. _He was going to say something else when Jack walked up and I want to know what it was, but picking fruit would help me get my mind off things for a little while._

"Sure, Jack." Kate said after weighing the options.

"Alright then, lets go."

Kate started to walk toward the jungle with Jack when she looked over her shoulder at Sawyer still sitting on his airplane seat doing a very good job of hiding his hurt at her choosing Jack over him.

"I'll talk to when I get back, Sawyer," she yelled back at him.

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Jack and Kate had been walking through the jungle, picking fruit for near three hours when they decided to take a break. They had plenty of fruit now so they could start heading back after a quick rest. The break was Jack's idea. While they were walking, he noticed that Kate looked rather pale and was tiring out very easily. Now that they were sitting across from each other, he saw the dark circles under her eyes too.

"Kate, are you sure you're okay? If you're getting sick then just tell me so I can give you some medicine."

"I'm _fine_, Jack," Kate stressed.

She wasn't fine though. Being in the jungle after she had had that nightmare last night just made things a little too real. Picking fruit was definitely _not_ a good idea with her present state of mind. It was too late to worry about it now though. They had been in here this long and she was still okay but she still couldn't shake the feeling of the nightmare.

With her fear getting the best of her, she got up.

"Okay, I'm feeling rested. Let's go," Kate said quickly.

She sounded calm, but she was far from it. The more she tried to calm herself about being in the jungle, the more worried she got. Walking was okay because she was concentrating on where she was going, but sitting down when there was nothing to think about except being in the jungle was a whole different story.

"Alright," Jack said, getting up off the ground.

He wasn't going to fight her on this. It was clear to him that something was wrong, but she kept insisting that she was fine. He decided to let it rest for now, but he _would_ get an explanation later.

Kate and Jack walked at a brisk pace with Kate in the lead. She was wasting no time in getting the hell out of the jungle. _It was such a mistake to come here with Jack,_ Kate thought as she quickened her pace. _I should have just stayed with Sawyer on the beach and endured his teasing. Even it would be better than this._

With their quick pace, it only took them a little over two hours to get back to the beach where the sun was just starting to set. Jack was just about to ask Kate is she was alright again when she shoved her backpack full of fruit at him and took off toward her tent. She stayed there for the rest of the night.

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Finally! I finished chapter two. I really hope you guys like this chapter as much as you did the first one and I apologize again for taking so long to update. I can't guarantee that the next chapter will be up any faster but I will try harder. I know this chapter didn't have as much skate as the first one but there will be more eventually. Please let me know what you think of this story. I will try to take any thoughts and considerations you have into account. Thank you once again for reading my story and as always, please review.


	3. Day 3: Anger

Author's Note: Wow chapter three! I even got it up in less than a month this time, just in time for the start of season three on TV. Thanks again to everyone who is reading this story and especially to the people who are reviewing too. I'm glad that everyone is happy with this story so far and I hope you guys continue to enjoy it. I'm aiming for around seven or eight chapters and I will continue to work on faster updates although this is probably as good as it's gonna get. 

Thoughts in italics

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

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After going to her tent last night, Kate was unable to quell her fears long enough to fall asleep. Her time in the jungle with Jack had upset her more than even she realized. Kate had never been good at facing her fears anyway. That was why she liked to run. It also didn't help that her tent was in close proximity to the jungle that she had grown to fear in the last twenty-four hours.

It was around one in the morning before Kate managed to fall into a fitful sleep but even that didn't last very long. She had that same nightmare from yesterday which caused her to wake up about an hour later. She wished that Sawyer was with her so she could get a good night's sleep but there was no way in hell she would even ask him for something like that again. When she asked yesterday, she may have gotten a decent amount of sleep but it came the price of her dignity.

By the time the sun came up, Kate's exhaustion had got the best of her and she fell into another nightmare-plagued sleep. This one lasted almost four hours before Jack walked into her tent. He had been on the beach, looking for Kate again after she ran off yesterday when he heard her talking in her sleep much like Sawyer did the other night. So when Jack walked into her tent and saw her tossing and turning, he immediately tried to wake her up which only resulted in Kate suddenly waking from the nightmare and punching Jack in the shoulder as hard as she could.

Jack probably deserved at least one punch for waking Kate up but she didn't stop after just one hit. She continued to fight Jack, trying to get away from him until he managed to hold her still.

"What the hell, Kate?" Jack asked angrily while Kate stopped thrashing.

"Jack?" Kate questioned, clearly not sure who was holding her.

"Who else would it be? What's a matter with you? I come in here to wake you up and all of a sudden you attack me?"

Jack was fuming by now. Not only did Kate not recognize what she was doing, but she was also not grateful for him waking her up from her nightmare. He knew she wasn't okay like she kept insisting. People who are okay don't go into attack mode after being woken up. Jack's anger, however, had set off Kate who hated when people saw her in a moment of weakness.

"You had no right to even come in here!" Kate exclaimed as she pulled angrily out of his grasp and stormed out of her own tent.

She immediately headed for the jungle, which was where she would usually run off to, but then she came to her senses and stopped. She glared at the swaying trees as if they personally had offended her and stalked off to a deserted part of the beach instead so she could be alone.

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From his position just outside his tent, Sawyer watched Kate head toward the jungle and then turn around and go in the opposite direction. He smirked when he saw a pissed off Jack storm out of Kate's tent a minute later. _Serves him right after takin' Freckles yesterday_, Sawyer thought happily. _At least now she blew him off too. _

Sawyer was ticked off about what had happened yesterday. First, he antagonized Kate when she just wanted to thank him. Then, she just takes off with Jack to do who knows what in the jungle. And finally, even though she told him she would come to see him when she got back, she never did. _Guess I had that comin' though. That's what I get for openin' my big mouth._ At this point, Sawyer was just mad. At himself…at Kate…at Jack…

Despite his anger toward Kate, he still felt inclined to follow her. He did still have to apologize after all. Or at the very least show her no hard feelings because he was horrible at saying sorry. He'd have to be careful, though, because he did _not_ want a repeat of yesterday and he had the tendency to make things worse than what they already are.

Sawyer's pride may have to take a hit but he was worried about Kate so he got up and headed in the direction she just went. _You're goin' soft and that's all there is to it. A couple weeks ago, would you have cared that Kate was upset? …No. _He sighed. _I've been on this island too damn long._

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Kate stomped down the beach, avoiding the weird looks from the other survivors. She was beyond caring what they thought of her. Right now she just wanted to put as much distance as she could between herself and her problems. Unfortunately, while she could run from Jack and the jungle, her troubles went with her wherever she went.

When Kate reached the part of the beach where she could barely see the camp, she plopped down on the sand and put her head in her hands. This was getting out of control. She usually freaks out on this week every year but this was just insane. Despite the fact that she had faced all this before, it never got to her like this. She had always prided herself on being able to keep her emotions in check but now they were going haywire and she had nowhere to run.

As a consequence, she was taking out her problems on innocent bystanders, like Jack, who was really just trying to help. She couldn't bring herself to go back and apologize, though, so she just sat there in the sand, wallowing in her grief.

Kate picked her head up and stared out at the rolling ocean. She always loved the water. It was so strong and free. _I wish I had some of that strength right now. I could sure use it._

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when a person sat down next to her. Kate jumped a mile high and whipped around to face whoever decided to follow her out here.

"No need to be so jumpy, Freckles. I ain't gonna hurt ya," Sawyer said when she had jumped.

Kate breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Sawyer, not some demon from her past as she had feared. _Of course, Sawyer could be just as bad depending on his mood._

"Why'd you follow me out here?" she asked him.

"Ya looked upset. And you own me a talk from yesterday," Sawyer answered, deciding to give her the real answers instead of a smart-ass remark that would usually follow such a question. Well, as real as the answers could get anyway since he was _not_ about to tell her he was worried about her.

Kate sighed, "Yeah, well, I had a lot on my mind yesterday so… sorry."

"We were talking fine before you skipped off with the doc into the jungle of mystery," Sawyer said angrily. "What the hell did you two do out there that made ya not want to talk to me when you got back?"

"Are you kidding me with this?" Kate stated disbelievingly. "You're pissed because I didn't come to see you after picking fruit yesterday so you follow me all the way out here to bite my head off? I so don't have the patience to deal with this right now."

Kate stood up and started to march off once again but Sawyer quickly jumped to his feet and grabbed her arm, keeping Kate from running anywhere. _So much for not making things worse than what they already are, _Sawyer fumed at himself.

Kate glared up at him, "Let go of me!"

"No way, Freckles. Just sit back down and we can talk."

"Well, I don't want to talk. I want you to let me go."

It was Sawyer's turn to sigh. He loosened his grip on her arm but didn't let go.

"Look, Freckles… I actually came out here to tell ya that I'm sorry about teasin' ya yesterday. I didn't mean to yell at ya today either but I'm not the best at apologizing. There… happy?"

Kate nodded mutely and sat back down on the sand. She felt Sawyer sit down beside her.

"So, seriously," Sawyer began, "how was fruit picking yesterday?"

"Horrible"

"Did it have anything to do with being in the jungle?"

Kate stared in surprise at Sawyer. _How does he know?_

"Yeah…" Kate said slowly. "But how did you know?"

Sawyer grinned. "I saw ya run away from the jungle this morning. I assumed that meant that ya didn't want to be in there."

"Oh."

"I also remembered that your nightmare took place in the jungle," Sawyer offered.

"Yeah… it did." Kate said softly.

"Ya okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Kate questioned angrily.

"Maybe because it's pretty damn obvious that you're not fine," Sawyer replied, careful to not let Kate's angry at this question fuel his own.

Kate calmed herself and answered, "I will be. In about four days I should be just fine again."

Sawyer stared at her with a disbelieving look on his face. "So you're saying, in four days whatever's bothering you will just… stop?"

"Yeah," Kate said. "I've gone though this before. I know how it works."

"How what works?"

"This week of… insanity." Kate told him. "This week where everything is messed up and my past comes back to haunt me."

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Well I finally finished another chapter. I really hope you all liked this one as much as the first two so please review and let me know. You guys have been awesome at reviewing and I can't thank you enough. My life was at a pretty messed up place while I was writing this chapter so if it's not the best or seems kinda angry… sorry. I will definitely update this between now and Halloween. 


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